Distinction in a Time of Chaos

It was strange to have him gone. The office felt bare and quiet. Adela gleefully filled the empty desktop with the Lego jungle she was creating. I tucked a stray paperclip into a drawer and wandered back into the kitchen. A second pot of coffee gurgled forth from the old coffee maker. Jovani had taken the thermos full into the bunkhouse where he had set up camp out of the house. After nine months, we agreed that having a office inside the house was providing more distraction than it was worth. A few yards  away he would have a chance to focus. 

I get that. I know mankind has touted the "multitasking" badge around for a few decades, but I doubt we were ever created to do that with peace. Believe me, I've tried. I can either watch a movie OR clean up after dinner. If I try to do both I lose my patience with everyone and everything. I'm a terrible listener if I'm looking at my phone. I fail to remember Micaela's meds if I'm already planning tomorrows agenda. 

Truly, we were made to have distinction in our lives. Distinction that separates one task from another. One day from the next. One season from what comes ahead. 

In Genesis, God spends the first few days, creating the earth in opposites. There is dark and then He makes light. He makes day and then night. He makes dry ground come up from the waters. He marks the seasons. 

It was time for Jovani to get some separation from us and our happy chaos so that work could be work and home could be home. Family time feels more complete when he is there to spend time with us and doesn't need to juggle anything else. 

As I begin this new year, I want to stay sensitive to the areas of my own life that need distinction. Even the little things need their separate space so that I came experience them fully. May God mark the spaces of my life and leave me little question to treasure their individual space. 

But I trust in you, O Lord;
    I say, “You are my God.”
My times are in your hand;
Psalm 31:14, 15a, ESV

Where do you sense you need some separation or distinction in places of your own life?